updated 08:50 am EDT, Tue September 22, 2009

Netflix CEO talks iPhone, other systems

Netflix should not only branch out to other game consoles but also mobile devices like the iPhone as well, CEO Reed Hastings said later on Monday. Although Microsoft claims an Xbox 360 exclusive for game systems, Hastings expects the streaming version of his video service to eventually arrive on "all" consoles as well as Blu-ray players and TVs. He doesn't have a timetable for when the exclusivity would end.

On Apple's platform, he expects that an app will "likely to come over time" but that the immediate focus is on larger screens rather than on mobile devices. The arrival of Netflix on the iPhone would represent one of the few if not the first paid movie services on the iPhone not run by Apple itself.

Although intending to ultimately compete with Apple on its own platform, the company head told Reuters he was prepared for the reverse and that there will be "a lot of competition" from not just iTunes but also other services that compete more directly with Netflix's unlimited streaming service, such as paid services like Amazon VOD or Blockbuster as well as free ad-supported challengers like Hulu. The added competition should force companies to improve and help out viewers in the end, Hastings said.